I'm trying to remotely connect to my desktop (referred to from now on as 'host') from my laptop (referred to from now on as 'remote'). I've been able to do so successfully from my home network, with the two devices right next to each other or on different floors of the house. I wanted to be able to do so from an outside network.
I looked at a few articles, including the following:
However each of these cases never provide me actual instructions on how to establish this connection. They just say, "Get a VPN and you'll be able to do it."
I use OpenVPN, with certificates purchased from IPVanish, as my VPN of choice. I downloaded and logged in to the same certificate (same location), using the same credentials, on both the host and remote, and when I try to connect it works fine except when on different networks. So using a VPN hasn't exactly changed anything.
This article suggests to 'Install OpenVPN server' on the remote and host, yet when I search for 'OpenVPN server', all I get is the official OpenVPN site trying to sell me a server for an IT network. I don't need an IT network, I would just like to be able to connect one or two computers to one or two other computers, just my personal devices.
I'd really rather not shell out a monthly charge for something that seems incredible simple.
So what am I missing? I know about port forwarding, but that seems kind of dangerous: anyone with that IP address can connect to my computer and get in. I also don't want to deal regularly with unnecessary external software like TeamViewer every time I want to connect, though I'd be willing to use external software to set up that connection for the first time.
So how do I connect to a remote desktop, using a VPN, from an external network?
